Ok in 2004 my friend and I got an apartment together. She put the lease in her name, but we were both responsible for paying the bills. When the lease was up we both moved out. Last year I noticed there was $4500 on my credit report from NAILAAA - National Association of Independent Landlords. The landlord somehow got my SSN and charged 4500 to my credit report! For the life of my I can't understand why and I am unable to get in touch with the landlord. I don't know what to do to get this off of my report! Any suggestions??
They don't need your SSN to put an account on your credit report. Was your name on the lease? Did you at any time give your SSN to the landlord? Were all payments due under the lease paid when you moved out? Did you get your deposit back?
My name was not on the lease, and I did not at any time give my SSN to the landlord. All funds were paid upon move out. My friend paid the deposit and she did get it back at the end.
I called the collection agency to verify the debt and they told me what this was from. When disputing this to the CRA, should I put in my statement that my name was never on the lease or just simply state that this is not my account? Are there any good formats for this type of dispute?
If they said it was from that lease, what did they claim it was for? What document or agreement made you both responsible for paying the lease payments? Has the collection agency sent you anything in writing? They are required to notify you of your right to dispute, within 5 days of their first contact with you.
I never received anything from this collection agency. It is possible that they did not have a proper address for me. When I called about the debt, they only told me that it was from the lease term January - June 2004. I signed nothing regarding this apartment. The payment agreement was arranged verbally between myself and my roommate. Is it legal for him(the landlord) to have put this on my credit report, when he had nothing signed from me?
He would be hard pressed to "validate" the debt if you disputed it with the CA. Were all payments made directly by your roommate, with her checks, and none made by your checks? Is there even a valid debt owed by your roommate?
No we both equally made payments most of the time they were either cash or money order, I did not have a checking account at the time. What would you say would be the best route of disputing this with the CA?
On the contrary. It is consistent with your position that you are not a party to the lease. The signed lease was between your roommate and the landlord. I don't see how any verbal agreement between you and your roommate has anything to do with that. Your roommate is not the landlord, and cannot make agreements for him (assuming your roommate wasn't the manager, or something similar). You might have some liability, lease or not, for damage that you did, or for unpaid rent during a period when you were staying there. $4500 is a substantial amount of money. Did you and your roommate move out at the end of the lease, with all rent paid, and any cleaning or repair charges paid, with any balance on the security deposit returned? Can you still contact the roommate, and is there a record either of a walkthru, or a copy of a check for returning a deposit?
